Superhero Saving Herself... (Review of Breaking the Dark--A Marvel Crime Novel)

There’s just something about superheroes.

Having inhuman powers. Fighting bad guys. Kicking lots of ass.

 

Sounds pretty awesome, right? (Except for... when it isn’t.)

 

To Jessica Jones, a perpetual outsider, being a “superhero”—a tarnished, been-to-hell-and-back one, at that—is anything but awesome. 

 

And ever since a whole lot of crap went down in her life—culminating in her retirement from the whole superhero biz, and making everything that much less awesome—she’s been doing her level best to just... exist.

 

Not in any “super” kind of way.

 

But in an if-only-I-can-get-through-another-day way.

 

Until the day Amber Randall walks through the grimy door of Jessica’s dingy apartment-cum-private-eye-office-space... begging for help, as only a desperate parent can.

 

Jessica, wallowing in the pit of despair, fear, and self-loathing deep within her soul, is drawn to the other woman’s pain and fear, for it touches on feelings she knows too well. And to her own surprise, she softens enough to accept Mrs. Randall’s frantic pleas for her to take the case.

 

It’s the first book in a brand-new Marvel Crime series of original stories based on Marvel superheroes, Breaking the Dark (penned by bestselling author Lisa Jewell).

 

 

Amber, the socialite mother of fraternal twin teens—Lark and Fox—is out of her rarefied depths, regarding them.

After spending the summer in England with their father/her ex, the twins returned to Manhattan... different.

 

Not like cool-London-hipsters, or even posh-silver-spoon-kids different, but in a spent-the-summer-in-rural-England-with-oddballs kind of different. 

 

But as bizarre as that is, what’s even more weird is how they’ve changed physically—gone are all signs of typical teens (pocky skin, lank hair, crooked teeth, awkward body movements), and in their place? Perfection.

 

Perfect skin. Perfect smiles. Perfect posture. Even perfect self-assuredness.

 

[If the Stepford Wives were young adults? They might resemble Lark and Fox Randall.]

 

Another worrisome peculiarity is their obsession with someone they met over there... a girl named Belle, whom they keep going on about.

 

Amber Randall knows these aren’t the same children she sent off to visit their father a few months earlier for the summer holidays. 

 

These kids are...well, not right.

 

And Amber is convinced that only another person who is certifiably “different”—in other words, Jessica—stands a chance of getting to the bottom of what has changed them so drastically.

 

It’ll only take a trip to the merry old England countryside—Jessica’s first trip on an airplane, or out of the country, ever—to do so.

 

What could go wrong..??

 

 

First, you have to understand that this novel puts you smack dab in a time following the events of the TV series, Jessica Jones. 

 

[So, in case you didn’t understand that this is a spinoff book from a TV show? You’d be wise going back and viewing the show, first, to get a full sense of the space these characters inhabit... or passing on this one, completely.]

 

If you have watched (and enjoyed) the TV series, though, Breaking the Dark is a natural and welcome continuation in the saga of a complex, fascinating character.

 

Jewell perfectly captures Jessica’s dark—really dark, at times—personality... as well as her deadpan, sarcastic humor. [She’s probably not everyone’s cup of tea—or shot of whiskey, being Jessica—but to me, she’s compelling.]

 

There’s also a nice amount of angst about, and quality time with, the superhero Jessica is closest to, Luke Cage (with whom she’s been in an on-again/off-again not-quite-relationship). They share some great scenes in the book, which fans of both series are sure to appreciate.

 

Breaking the Dark explores the post-trauma stress Jessica’s still trying to work through... and throws a couple additional surprises into the mix [no spoilers, here, folks], to further complicate matters. 

 

When the various resolutions finally come, they feel earned; nothing is a given, or easy, in this book... which, again, is totally true to Jessica Jones.

 

If you’re already a fan of these characters, Breaking the Dark is a must-read. 

 

On the other hand, if you haven’t encountered them before—but are willing to do a little deep-dive into their world (especially if you’re superhero-friendly)—you well might find something new to love.

 

~GlamKitty

[My sincere thanks to Hyperion Avenue, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are, as always, entirely my own.]